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Chris et al,

As I am approaching the half-way point through a first draft of my story, it occurs to me that my Protagonist's biggest opponent isn't really the character who functions as my Antagonist, but the circumstances he represents -- namely, "The Present". The Protagonist is concerned with changing the Present in order to create a Future that otherwise would not exist if things stay as they are. But The Present itself has a lot of inertia, he is finding out. So at the moment I am feeling my Antagonist to be a little less present in the storytelling than he should be.

This "realization" doesn't significantly alter anything I have in mind for the story, but on a rewrite I'm wondering if I might be able to weave in this idea. I know than the Antagonist can be a person or persons or a thing or things, but what I'm suggesting here isn't either of those things.

So, is this a story weaving or a story telling issue?

Jeff

How is "The Present" characterized? How can we, the audience, know that The Present represents Reconsider and Prevent/Avoid? Thematically, you may have the Present as your subject matter, but it needs to be embodied somehow.

I've since realized it isn't the problem I thought it was -- was a dumb question. In fact there is a "thing" that very much represents the Present's inertia, and the antagonist is associated with it (Dramatica to the rescue!).

I just have some storytelling work to do.

Thanks,

Jeff